We did it! We finally opened! Wow. What a weekend. We had two great houses, both full of positivity. I have to say it was strange to hear laughter and lack thereof, in some cases. Lines we were expecting laughs got none (crickets), and lines I didn't think were that funny got roars. Like, what's so funny about:
"Everyone did it with June."
Really? Roars of laughter? I am a mother for Christ's sake. Have some respect.
Kidding. I was a total floozie.
My character. My character was a total floozie.
Overall we had a great time. There were even some "magical" moments. And, of course, you have to love live theatre. Our tape recorder broke at the top of the show. The tape recorder that plays through and is a part of a large portion of the show. That was fun to cover up. You have to be quick on your toes! Or, just start laughing, as I did. Whattya gonna do?
Thank god tonight is a pick up rehearsal. I have been miserable back in real life. It's sooooo real.
I need to see some seventies face and chest hair to break me out of this funk!
A peek backstage at The Production Company Los Angeles, CA
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
"Fifth of July" 25th, 26th and Final Dress: Bigger Than a Breadbox?
Here we go. Tonight is Opening Night. The last three rehearsals have been strange, I'm not going to lie. But, I am a firm believer that rocky rehearsals equals amazing performances. So we should kill it tonight!
I can't explain how fun this journey has been. In some ways it feels like the end, but we are just getting started! I mean, look at those two yahoos in that picture. Six weeks with that? I'll take it. (By the way, Rob worked very hard on getting that scraggly mess to grow, you should compliment him when you see him.)
I will leave you with some more inspiring words from August:
"You all think you have a big d%&*. Sometimes you have to swagger it."
Break legs everyone!!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
"Fifth of July" 23rd & 24th Rehearsal: Teching the Fatoush
It was a long two days. But, there was no place I'd rather be. We had a bumpy start the first day, but we had three consecutive great runs. We wore our costumes for the two runs yesterday and that threw in a whole new twist to the show. The costumes are fantastic and scary. The seventies certainly had some flare. The men's pants were certainly tighter back then. I will leave you with a quote from Rob:
"I feel like I need to part the Red Sea, but I'm not Moses."
Take from that what you will.
"I feel like I need to part the Red Sea, but I'm not Moses."
Take from that what you will.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
"Fifth of July" 20th, 21st, and 22nd Rehearsal: Trees Should have Children
This week was all about running the show. It's definitely had it's ups and downs, but I think we are getting there. There was a tree/wood theme this week in the dressing room. It started out with Johnny Yoder (Jed) coming to me with a problem:
"So, Jen, I was in my office today and there is a really low wooden beam by my window and I normally duck, but today I backed right into it," Johnny told me.
"Oh no," I responded.
"Yeah, but the problem is... I think I have a sliver in my head."
"A what?"
"A sliver. Could you look at it?"
"A silver in your head? That's awesome. Sure, I'll look at it."
"Are you sure? It's not too weird?"
"Johnny, I'm a mom. I've looked in weirder places today."
So, I moved his mop top out of the way and sure enough there was a sliver deep in his scalp. It amazed me. He had to have been going full speed for that piece of wood to get through all of that hair and pierce his scalp.
Poor kid. He was out of it all night.
The next day Rob was in the dressing room staring at himself, as usual. Not in a vain way in a curious way. Then after places were called and the room got silent, he turned to us and said:
"Does my head look like a tree?"
Which of course was confusing. Then I looked at his shirt which had a trunk of a tree starting at his neck which led down to roots that sprawled across his chest. His head did look like a tree.
"Or, am I the roots?" he said.
Then he tried to turn his head upside down and, yes, he could be the roots as well. Fascinating. Deep thoughts.
Two days after the sliver incident, during a run I came back to the dressing room for a moment between scenes.
"What's burning?" I asked Judy.
"Nothing, anymore," she replied.
"Oh, was someone smoking?" I figured.
"No, I was sterilizing a needle," she laughed.
"For what?"
"I took that damn sliver out of Johnny's head."
Leave it to the moms to take care of it.
"Here it is," she pointed.
"Holy crap! That was in his head???" I whisper screamed.
"Yep."
And here it is:
This tree trunk was in Johnny's head for over three days! Talk about horticultural!
Anyways, he survived. Today we are entering day one out of two of tech. It sounds bad, but August and T.L. are the best tech-ers I've ever worked with. I'm looking forward to a long, relaxing day, sans wooden beams.
"So, Jen, I was in my office today and there is a really low wooden beam by my window and I normally duck, but today I backed right into it," Johnny told me.
"Oh no," I responded.
"Yeah, but the problem is... I think I have a sliver in my head."
"A what?"
"A sliver. Could you look at it?"
"A silver in your head? That's awesome. Sure, I'll look at it."
"Are you sure? It's not too weird?"
"Johnny, I'm a mom. I've looked in weirder places today."
So, I moved his mop top out of the way and sure enough there was a sliver deep in his scalp. It amazed me. He had to have been going full speed for that piece of wood to get through all of that hair and pierce his scalp.
Poor kid. He was out of it all night.
The next day Rob was in the dressing room staring at himself, as usual. Not in a vain way in a curious way. Then after places were called and the room got silent, he turned to us and said:
"Does my head look like a tree?"
Which of course was confusing. Then I looked at his shirt which had a trunk of a tree starting at his neck which led down to roots that sprawled across his chest. His head did look like a tree.
"Or, am I the roots?" he said.
Then he tried to turn his head upside down and, yes, he could be the roots as well. Fascinating. Deep thoughts.
Two days after the sliver incident, during a run I came back to the dressing room for a moment between scenes.
"What's burning?" I asked Judy.
"Nothing, anymore," she replied.
"Oh, was someone smoking?" I figured.
"No, I was sterilizing a needle," she laughed.
"For what?"
"I took that damn sliver out of Johnny's head."
Leave it to the moms to take care of it.
"Here it is," she pointed.
"Holy crap! That was in his head???" I whisper screamed.
"Yep."
And here it is:
This tree trunk was in Johnny's head for over three days! Talk about horticultural!
Anyways, he survived. Today we are entering day one out of two of tech. It sounds bad, but August and T.L. are the best tech-ers I've ever worked with. I'm looking forward to a long, relaxing day, sans wooden beams.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
"Fifth of July" 17th, 18th & 19th Rehearsal: Plug Your Ears
I'm lagging on the posting. Jeez.
Basically, we are now just running the show. Which is awesome. Thank god that line nightmare is over. (For the most part.) Now, if I could only stop having laughing fits on stage.
We are in the midst of fine tuning things. Most recently, our off stage dialogue. Not our backstage gossip sessions. Which really isn't gossip at all. (We mostly talk about food cleanses and drugs.) Our actual offstage dialogue. Almost every character has a line or two that is supposed to come from somewhere offstage: the shower, a bedroom, the kitchen, the driveway, etc.. Prior to today, we all sounded like we were in the same room (because we were). Yet, we were all expecting a different effect. So, Carver (Wouldn't you know?) started experimenting with variations of doors open and shut, to get different sound effects.
And it worked! The problem was remembering what door was shut or open during our line. T.L. wrote them down, but he was in the audience by the time we started. And most of us forgot which variation we settled on. My favorite conversation backstage was this:
"Wait- Which door was open for the driveway?" said Jen Albert.
"The bathroom door's closed and the stage door is open three inches and we yell facing the stage," Carver informed us.
"Wait- Three inches? How do you remember it was three inches?" I asked.
"One, two, three," he showed me with his fingers between the door and the frame.
"I mean, don't get me wrong- There's nothing wrong with your three inches," I retorted, "I just don't know how you remembered that."
And that is all I will say about that. I have vowed to try and make less fun of Carver.
It is very difficult.
He is growing a beard.
That he's turning into mutton chops and a handle bar mustache.
I'm done.
I promise.
For now.
Basically, we are now just running the show. Which is awesome. Thank god that line nightmare is over. (For the most part.) Now, if I could only stop having laughing fits on stage.
We are in the midst of fine tuning things. Most recently, our off stage dialogue. Not our backstage gossip sessions. Which really isn't gossip at all. (We mostly talk about food cleanses and drugs.) Our actual offstage dialogue. Almost every character has a line or two that is supposed to come from somewhere offstage: the shower, a bedroom, the kitchen, the driveway, etc.. Prior to today, we all sounded like we were in the same room (because we were). Yet, we were all expecting a different effect. So, Carver (Wouldn't you know?) started experimenting with variations of doors open and shut, to get different sound effects.
And it worked! The problem was remembering what door was shut or open during our line. T.L. wrote them down, but he was in the audience by the time we started. And most of us forgot which variation we settled on. My favorite conversation backstage was this:
"Wait- Which door was open for the driveway?" said Jen Albert.
"The bathroom door's closed and the stage door is open three inches and we yell facing the stage," Carver informed us.
"Wait- Three inches? How do you remember it was three inches?" I asked.
"One, two, three," he showed me with his fingers between the door and the frame.
"I mean, don't get me wrong- There's nothing wrong with your three inches," I retorted, "I just don't know how you remembered that."
And that is all I will say about that. I have vowed to try and make less fun of Carver.
It is very difficult.
He is growing a beard.
That he's turning into mutton chops and a handle bar mustache.
I'm done.
I promise.
For now.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
"Fifth of July" 16th Rehearsal: Ouch! Contraption!
Don't smoke the tarragon.
"When you stick a needle in a horse's ass... You have to tap it on the forehead."
-August Viverito
'Nuff said.
"When you stick a needle in a horse's ass... You have to tap it on the forehead."
-August Viverito
'Nuff said.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
"Fifth of July" 14th & 15th Rehearsal: Hell Freezes Over
Yes, everyone, Hell has frozen over. Not because of the major historical events that have transpired since my last entry. White noise, compared to this:
Christopher Daniel Carver did not know, nor have an anecdote for, a... Question. You heard it here first.
Let's take this moment to absorb that thought.
It's scary. What else could happen in the world? Someone on Wall Street actually serves time?
No, probably not. Unless we are talking about the movie "Wall Street". (Enter obvious Charlie Sheen joke here.)
Nevertheless, it's true. Christopher Daniel Carver did not know the story behind who "Naomi and Jezebel" are. Now, let me just say this- No one else did either. But, Carver? He knows everything, or he at least thinks and sounds like he does. A few examples:
I missed my cue again last night, because I was getting a lecture on the difference between tequila and mezcal. Apparently, tequila is only made from "blue" agave and only made in Jalisco. Anything else, is mezcal. Interesting, huh? (Well, you should see him describe it. It's very physically involved.)
Chris has a reference to "the little Dutch Boy" in the show. And, according to Chris, "the little Dutch Boy" was created by an American, not by the Greeks or the Dutch. Now, I don't know what the hell he is talking about here. I thought the Dutch Boy had something to do with paint. But, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so I'm going with it.
And, the question was raised to Jen Albert on whether or not she knew what it felt like to take a quaalude. She did not. But, true to form, we all got a very detailed description of what it was like. From who else? (I'm sure he had just googled it for research.) Actually, surprisingly, a few people were able to help out in that department. One person, who shall not be named, said they didn't quite remember what it was like, but they, "Got laid a lot."
Fun group. I love my people. The people.
And did you know the eskimos only have four words for snow? (That was actually from August.)
Anyways, I have to get back to memorizing my lines. Since I clearly don't know them yet. I'm sure Chris is at home doing the same thing.
Or, wait... No. He's building a contraption, at home, that will throw his voice, so he sounds like he is walking from a car before he enters in Act One.
WikiCarver.
Christopher Daniel Carver did not know, nor have an anecdote for, a... Question. You heard it here first.
Let's take this moment to absorb that thought.
It's scary. What else could happen in the world? Someone on Wall Street actually serves time?
No, probably not. Unless we are talking about the movie "Wall Street". (Enter obvious Charlie Sheen joke here.)
Nevertheless, it's true. Christopher Daniel Carver did not know the story behind who "Naomi and Jezebel" are. Now, let me just say this- No one else did either. But, Carver? He knows everything, or he at least thinks and sounds like he does. A few examples:
I missed my cue again last night, because I was getting a lecture on the difference between tequila and mezcal. Apparently, tequila is only made from "blue" agave and only made in Jalisco. Anything else, is mezcal. Interesting, huh? (Well, you should see him describe it. It's very physically involved.)
Chris has a reference to "the little Dutch Boy" in the show. And, according to Chris, "the little Dutch Boy" was created by an American, not by the Greeks or the Dutch. Now, I don't know what the hell he is talking about here. I thought the Dutch Boy had something to do with paint. But, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so I'm going with it.
And, the question was raised to Jen Albert on whether or not she knew what it felt like to take a quaalude. She did not. But, true to form, we all got a very detailed description of what it was like. From who else? (I'm sure he had just googled it for research.) Actually, surprisingly, a few people were able to help out in that department. One person, who shall not be named, said they didn't quite remember what it was like, but they, "Got laid a lot."
Fun group. I love my people. The people.
And did you know the eskimos only have four words for snow? (That was actually from August.)
Anyways, I have to get back to memorizing my lines. Since I clearly don't know them yet. I'm sure Chris is at home doing the same thing.
Or, wait... No. He's building a contraption, at home, that will throw his voice, so he sounds like he is walking from a car before he enters in Act One.
WikiCarver.
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